At the Yangtze River Delta International Track and Field Diamond Games held in Suzhou on April 27, Chinese women's shot put star Gong Lijiao finally ranked fourth with a time of 19.61 meters.
Compared with the winning score of 19.72 meters in the Diamond League Xiamen station a week ago, Gong Lijiao's performance in Suzhou was not ideal. However, for this 35-year-old veteran, he has already learned to be indifferent to favors and humiliations, and will not care too much about the outcome of one or two games. She has her sights set on her fifth Olympic appearance.
"When I was in Xiamen, my score was only about 10 centimeters worse than this time. But I won the championship that time and was fourth this time. Although it is a bit regretful, I think this is a good thing for me. Motivation." Gong Lijiao said, "Maybe the state came too late today. I didn't feel like I found that state until the last ball, but it was too late. Maybe it was because the weather was a bit cold and I was older after all. "This is an experience that reminds me to get into better shape as soon as possible in future competitions."
In the competition that day, Gong Lijiao threw 19.24 meters in the first round, and her scores in the subsequent rounds were 19. It hovered around 20 meters, but it never improved. In the fifth round, Gong Lijiao threw 19.61 meters and rose to fourth place. However, according to the special rules of the Diamond League competition, only the top three athletes in the first five rounds can get the opportunity to try out the sixth round. In the end she could only place fourth.
Gong Lijiao's main competitor, American player Jackson won the championship with a time of 20.03 meters. World Championship runner-up Mitton from Canada won the runner-up with a time of 19.86 meters. Another Chinese player Song Jiayuan ranked third with a time of 19.83 meters. Three.
In the two consecutive Diamond League games at the beginning of the season, almost all the top players in the women's shot put event came to China to compete. But only one person threw more than 20 meters in the two games. Gong Lijiao analyzed: "This year's outdoor season has just started, and everyone's condition may not be particularly good. The Olympics (track and field competition) are in August. I think if you want to win the championship, your score must be at least 20.50 meters or above. So it is final. You can’t relax, you need to improve your performance step by step.”
For this winter training, Gong Lijiao went to Germany and once again joined hands with the meritorious foreign teacher Dieter Clark, who had worked with her for three years. From 2014 to 2017, Gong Lijiao trained with the German coach. The two worked closely together and achieved ideal results. In 2017, Gong Lijiao broke through the "window paper" and won the World Championships for the first time. Since then, Gong Lijiao has reached the peak of her career. In 2019, she won the World Championship again, and won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, achieving a historic breakthrough.
Gong Lijiao said that Clark, who is now over 80 years old, has rich experience in coaching "older" athletes. He once coached the 39-year-old German women's discus champion Dietsch who won the World Championships. At present, the two have cooperated again for less than half a year, and they are still in a state of running into each other. However, during the winter training, when I used 5kg and 6kg balls to train, I achieved the best results in history, but this improvement has not been converted yet. On a 4kg official match ball.
"After returning home, I still need to throw more small balls to find out my speed, because I am a speed player." Gong Lijiao said, "I am now improving some techniques with the foreign teachers, and we will continue to work together technically."
has entered a relatively late stage of her career and is still undergoing technical adjustments. Gong Lijiao admits that it is a risk, but at the same time she also firmly believes that it is worth giving it a try.
She said: "Because I have already thrown 20.35 meters in 2009. I feel that I really have the strength to get close to 21 meters. Maybe there is only one change left. So this time I am determined. After training with a foreign teacher, I chose to trust him and truly change.”
After the Xiamen Diamond League, Clark returned to Germany early. Gong Lijiao plans to continue training alone in China for a month and then go to Germany to join Clark in June for final preparations for the Paris Olympics.
Gong Lijiao firmly believes that she still has the strength to win the gold medal in her fifth Olympic trip. At the end of the interview, she confidently said: "I'm really practicing well, so please stay tuned!"
Source: Xinhua News Agency
